Generalized Weisskopf‐Wigner model of triboelectroluminescence

Abstract The phenomenon of triboelectroluminescence is studied using a generalization of the Weisskopf‐Wigner model of spontaneous emission in an electronic two‐level system. An irreversible and exponential transfer of charge results from the model. The charge transfer between two linear atomic chains is computed as a function of the separation of the two chains and as a function of the temperature. Triboelectroluminescence due to spontaneous emission is found to be more efficient when the electron states in the two materials have a larger energy separation and decays rapidly with separation. It is insensitive to temperature variation when the electrons emanate from insulators or surface states, but not when they emanate from partially‐filled bands due to the thermal excitation of the electrons. image